


Like Mother Mary

by ReignPain



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Burns, Fire, Nightmares, One Shot, Season/Series 10 Spoilers, Season/Series 11, Season/Series 11 Spoilers, Self-Harm, lavashipping if you have your shipping goggles on, or something, wu has a tea obsession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-26 23:29:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20397934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReignPain/pseuds/ReignPain
Summary: Weakness, we've all felt it. From our knuckles to the bottom of our hearts.





	Like Mother Mary

Knowing full well, darling, your war's not ended

~  
The wind whipped around his face, obscuring his vision.

Cole winced as the thrusters singed bits of hair and skin, he cried out, now falling falling falling until his arm caught the end of the ladder, surely dislocating it. Cole felt his airways seize and struggle as apartment buildings tore through his suit and back, Jay’s panicked voice rang through his head making little to no sense.

“I - I got it!” he cried, clutching the rope with sweaty (bloody) fingers then watching in horror as the rung snapped, sending him downdowndown. 

His name bounced off of rooftops and broken windows. Either the bounty was getting further or he was falling faster. Maybe both, maybe the dizziness and decreasing pressure wasn’t real, maybe he died on that mountain all those years ago, maybe this whole ‘ninja’ thing was all a dream, this wasn’t real- 

Cole was numb as the arms of darkness wrapped around his, luling him to sleep. 

~

Cole gasped as his head hit the bamboo floor, his arms flailing. The raven sighed as he kicked the wadded blanket off, hoping (praying, anticipating) Jay wouldn’t wake. The frame rattled as the blue ninja rolled over, nothing more. 

Cole stumbled as he slipped out of his shared room. His heart raced as he graced down the hall past Kai and Zane’s room, past Nya and Pixal’s room. The black ninja tripped clumsily over a game controller outside of a hall closet, his breath hitched when the sound of snoring paused briefly before resuming. Then he was safe. Safe safe safe. 

The outside air was refreshing. Cole let out a sigh as he breathed in the dewy air allowing serenity to wash over him.

Now if only he were alone.

~

The world is coming down around me

And I can’t find a reason

To be loved.

~  
Kai shot up, a small sob escaping his lips.

“Kai? Is everything alright?” Zane whispered, his eyes lighting a path to him. 

The red ninja silently cursed the nindroid's light sleep. “Everything’s fine, Zane. Go back to sleep.” the grogginess was overwhelming but Kai was nevertheless relieved when the ice ninja (Kai remembered when he had an element to his name-) held his gaze only a moment longer before settled back down into sleep mode.

Now the brunet just had to figure out how to get out of there without waking Zane. Overheating his sensors was always an option that Kai had already successfully (though guiltily) done. Over_heat_ing his sensors. God, Kai was such an idiot! And a weak one at that. 

The red ninja chuckled a silent laugh before sliding open the window beside his bed. It led to the hillside beneath the monastery so Kai would have to scale the walls. (He wasn’t too weak to do that at least).

~

Some of the floor was original, loose boards everywhere. Kai pulled up the thirty second tile from the doorframe to reveal flint and wood. After digging around in his pocket Kai et out a small exclamation of success as he pulled out a bit of steel, borrowed from Nya - well, stolen but that meant nothing. 

The sparks flying from the steel were like fireworks in his eyes, one finally caught onto the kindling, igniting into a small flame. The warmth was accepting (and more often than not, he felt so cold). 

Taking a deep breath, Kai tugged off his socks before gingerly placing his feet on either side of the blazing stick. The heat was intense for eight, nine, ten more seconds (than usual) before Kai hissed and pulled them from the small hole in the ground. Without any hesitation, Kai put his hands into the now bigger fire. It burned, of course it burned. Kai wouldn’t have been surprised if his core temperature dropped a few degrees after The Incident.

It was all so familiar(liarliarliar) minus the searing pain. But Kai didn’t move, not until his bubbling hands were pulled roughly from the hole, the fire stomped out, his power once again gone.

~

Cole wasn’t surprised when the smell of smoke hit him. Half the nation was on fire, but Cole could only hope that the monastery wasn’t burning downdowndown (again). He rubbed his bleary eyes to see a huddled form not ten yards in front of him. 

Hands. Hands glowing red. Kai’s hands burning brighter than the purple circles beneath his eyes. Cole took a deep breath, trying to cool the unfamiliar rage bubbling beneath his skin. “‘The hell do you think you’re doing?” the earth ninja exclaimed, his eyes never leaving the blistering white burns on Kai’s hands. “You’ve got a real nerve doing this shit. Third degree burns, Kai?” Cole wasn’t done berating, he was ready to fire (ha) off more anger, but the look in his friend’s (teammate’s, brother’s) eyes stopped him. 

“I just wanted to… wanted to feel it again,” he murmured, amber eyes trained on the ground. His hands curled around rogue weeds growing between the porch floor. 

“I know you have a high pain tolerance but this is ridiculous,” Cole joked half heartedly. Most of the pain tolerance went with his power; Kai must have been in complete agony. “C’mon,” the black ninja sighed, finally noticing the burns on Kai’s feet. “Sensei probably has some iced tea for this or something.” 

The fire ninja clung to Cole, staining his shirt with tears. “Why are you out here?” he rasped. It took his brother flinching to realize; the nightmares. Cole still had fucking nightmares. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Kai said, changing the question. 

“Because.” Cole pulled the brunet onto his back. “It happened months ago. I felt weak.” 

“I know how it feels,” Kai mumbled, studying his burns. “I promise, Brookstone, I won’t let it get this bad.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> First lyric excerpt: Welcome Home (Finale) - Bandstand  
Second lyric excerpt: Arms - Christina Perri


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